15 Creative Hides
Placing a traditional under a rock is one thing. But why not make the hunt a new challenge by changing the cache type to a mystery? Because that cache type offers endless possibilities. Here are some very cool ideas!
Video Cache
Make a movie, a slideshow or anything similar and upload it to YouTube. Link to the video on the cache page. This opens up a whole new world of innovative things to do. It reminds a bit of Wherigo-caches and can be adopted in a variety of ways. For example, let the video reveal where the start is, or turn the whole thing into a story where the finder has to walk the same route as in the video.
Night Caching
Caching in the dark creates a whole new experience as compared to caching in daylight. Put up small reflexes on trees in a dark forest and have cachers bring a flashlight. To find the cache, they have to head out after dark. By following the relfexes, they are taken to the actual hide. Spice things up by adding stages and clues along the way.
Night Caching By Car
Why settle for a flashlight? Take advantage of headlights instead! Put up reflexes as waymarks along a dark road – or simply arrows for daylight caching – to show where to turn and where to stop.
Audio Recordings
Do you have a microphone in your computer or cell phone? Use it for caching purposes. Upload an audio recording and have the cacher download it to her mp3. Let the coordinates lead the cacher to the start point where she starts playing your audio directions. Why not create a route with several stages and audio hints and directions?
Caches Indoors
Is it possible to hide caches indoors? Absolutely! For example in libraries. Place a log book in the shelves (with permission, of course) and use the shelf section and letters as a hint. Have the coordinates lead to the front entrance. Another example is to have a cache behind a counter where people have to say a password to get the cache. And don’t forget to include the opening hours on the cache page!
Hanging In A Rope
Cliffhanger was a popular cache series where the caches were tied to ropes and thrown off cliffs, hanging very visibly from down below but only reachable by pulling them up from the top. Another version is to tie the rope high up between two trees. The cache can be seen easily from below but the rope has to be loosened in order to get to the cache. Of course, both of these have a high muggle risk.
Big Signs
Over-visibility can become humorous. Put up a big sign with, for example, the text “this is a geocache” or the cache name on it. Tie a write-in-the-rain pen to the sign and let the back side function as the logbook, or have an actual container hidden nearby. Again, fun but with a great risk of muggles.
Pen But No Container
In the most obvious location, tie a pen. The actual container is more hidden. Finding a pen but nothing to write in should confuse most geocachers.
Close To Home
Hiding a cache in your own yard creates a very social experience. Unfortunately, many find it uncomfortable to log such caches. An alternative is to place the cache just outside your garden. Mention in the description that you’d be happy to have visitors and invite them in for coffee if they knock on your door.
“Under A Rock” In An Odd Location
The hint “under a rock” is way too common. Have some fun by placing the rock up in a tree or in some other odd location. In Finland, there’s an example of this in the cache Tentacles. On the ground, there are stickers put on other rocks saying “Not this rock”. Visitors will be laughing out loud!
Multiplying Cache
Hide a bigger container. In it, put many small ones. In the cache description, encourage visitors to hide their own cache anywhere or nearby using one of the small containers. The risk is for many mediocre caches to appear, but the idea as a whole makes it an interesting happening.
CITO Cache
Hide a large container with plastic bags in it. Perhaps also an information folder about Cache In Trash Out (CITO), and an encouraging text. On the way back from the cache, people can use a plastic bag to pick up some trash.
Book Crossing Cache
Book Crossing is a hobby that bears many similarities to geocaching. Books are registered online and receive a unique code. Then they are placed “in the wild” in public places, hoping that someone else will find them. The find is logged online and you can track the books as they travel from hand to hand. And around the world, there are caches that combine the two hobbies by asking people to leave BC-books in the cache. If you take one, leave another.
Quiz Walk
A mystery cache can easily be turned into a fun quiz. Each stage has a question with a number of options and a set of coordinates attached to each. The correct answer gives the correct coordinates to the next step. The theme of the questions can be related to the location, or perhaps be about geocaching in general. They can also be tasks to perform where the surroundings are included, for example “How many steps are there in the stair case in front of you?”.
Tasks In An Undefined Order
A quiz or regular math problems in the form of a multi. These can be made more interesting by not revealing which question belongs to which stage. Simply list the coordinates and the tasks to be completed. Then it’s up to the visitor to figure out which belongs to which waypoint. Only then will the coordinates be correct.
